Rebels in Retrospect

The Progressive Youth Movement (PYM) was at the vortex of political protest and youth rebellion in New Zealand during the turbulent era of the Vietnam War. In this documentary, prominent members of the Christchurch and Wellington PYM groups reflect on the personal and social circumstances which propelled them into revolt against the conservative Holyoake Government and all it stood for. They disclose the passion with which they fought for an end to the war, for the severing of links with racist South Africa, and for liberation from the stifling social mores of the time. In vivid and often amusing detail, the former PYM members (many still political activists) recount tales of their protest actions, ranging from burning an effigy of President Nixon outside Holyoake's residence in the dead of night to shifting the buoys around at a surf lifesaving championship involving South Africans and disrupting a parade in Auckland of troops returning from Vietnam.